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I mean if we're basing it off of early season results then it's well deserved. I still have trouble taking them serious as a contender, but it isn't unheard of for a MAC team to have an unexpectedly good year. I don't remember last years preseason predictions, but I don't believe Miami was picked towards the top.

Is that Buffalo ranked above Miami and Kent State? 🧐

Obviously when Akron played St Louis, it was very one-sided but that was also the best I've seen the Zips look offensively this season. Plus, St Louis was on the second game of a road trip (played Duquesne a couple days prior), so they were probably tired. They've had a good season so let's hope they can take down Bryant -- and that the Zips win, of course!

Mid Major Top 25 Here is a look at how some national people view Akron & Yale. These are two of the best mid majors on paper with very different styles. Yale is very slow but incredibly efficient. In fact, Yale ranks 320th with 68.8 possessions per game but ranks #22 in effective FG% (58.8%) and #2 in 3P% (45.8%) while averaging 84 PPG (#77 nationally). In contrast, Akron ranks 97th in possessions per game with 75.4 with the 37th best effective FG% (57.6%), 28th best 3P% (39.7%), and 25th most PPG (92.2). Both offenses are potent, but which method will prevail tonight? If Akron dictates the pace, can Yale keep up with efficiency? If Yale dictates the pace, can Akron become more efficient? Yale has some size but it's not a key part of their style. Only one of their two players above 6'7" plays double digit minutes (6'10" Aletan). As @clarkwgriswold mentioned, their team is essentially Townsend. There isn't much beyond him as Yale is only 8 deep. It will be crucial for Akron to control the pace of play as I'm not sure Yale has the horses in the barn to keep up for 40 minutes, unless Townsend is a heroic thoroughbred. Cannot wait for this game. Revenge Tour 2025 continues!

Smart money must have been as puzzled as I with the opening lines.

Now gone to Akron -2.5 on DraftKings.

Against the 4 DI teams Akron has beaten, their average margin of victory is 27. Purdue was up by 25 or so when their bench came in vs. ours. Their margin of victory dwindled down to 18 (and could've been even less). Let's not pretend like what we're witnessing with Akron is normal.

I see Akron -1.5 on my apps.

The line is appealing, but I have a policy of never betting on my teams. If anything if Akron was a huge favorite in a game I might pick the other team to cover. That way I hedge my happiness.

That was my thought as well. Also, I'm sure our bench guys are trying to play hard when they get a chance so they can earn more playing time. Groce has said several times MMK is getting minutes instead of Barre because he earned them with his effort and performance in practice. If you go out there during a game and half a$$ it you're certainly not going to work your way up in the rotation regardless of score.

All I’m hearing is good betting odds for the zips!

6' 2" 280 lb interior lineman from Indianapolis. Class of 2026.

ESPN analytics have us as a 61% favorite. So it’s expected to be a nail biter

That's a bit surprising to hear. Putting any Akron bias aside we've looked like the most dominate in the first two rounds of the tournament. I would have thought we'd be ~2.5 point favorites.

good teams with strong benches can run up scores against lesser teams just by being on the floor, no?

This is why we got Evan! I think groce saw what happened vs Peter Suder and said I have to get a guy who will shut him down. Townsend is an another great player with a similar matchup problem. I am excited for the foreshadowing and opportunity at revenge!

Just looked at the stats for the St. Louis at Indiana game. Indiana led 8-0 in corner kicks. Indiana led 16-3 in shots. 3 to 1 in shots on goal. St. Louis was totally dominated but took advantage of their only chance. Zips have been focused all year on taking one game at a time. Duke tied Georgetown during the season. Any team that can hang with Georgetown is an excellent soccer team. Duke at Akron will be 2 very good soccer teams doing battle on Sunday.

That's what I'd expect. The line right now is Yale -1.5.

2 goals from the weekend...that others might enjoy seeing

I will say it's nice for us that our best defender is likely Evan and I assume he will have the assignment of limiting Townsend. Keeping the ball out of Townsends hands and forcing someone else to generate the offense for Yale will go a long way towards securing a Zips victory.

This has been an incredible tournament thus far. Helps that Akron is advancing, but props to college soccer for delivering as a whole. Maybe those snobby ESPN/ACC honk commentators from Thursday night are learning their lesson about what a more level playing field actually looks like in college athletics.

I like St. Louis's chances to beat #11 Bryant and give us a fourth round home game if we win.

Turnbull didn’t play much for Evansville tonight, but Hughes did. Yet Barre didn’t get much playing time again. This seemed like the perfect matchup for him. Also, I hate to say it, but when Brisco doesn’t see the floor at all, even for the garbage minutes it leads me to think he might not be here next year. Just not a good sign.

It's not like Halligan is filling the stat sheet. The guys in at the end are just playing hard until what is truly the final possession. None of it is running up the score if the other team is playing hard, too. MMK pulled the ball back tonight and we had a "shot clock violation" on the final possession. I'm sure among the coaching fraternity it is being talked about that improving a team's metrics is the name of the game when it comes to March arguments. Hard to fault anyone with that in mind.

Murray St loses to MTSU. The Cayman Islands is brutal this year